Polyamorous relationships illegal in Canada?
November 21, 2010 at 9:42 pm
(This post was last modified: November 21, 2010 at 9:44 pm by Ryft.)
So I am walking past a news stand this evening and I see the frontpage headline on The Province, "Polygamy on Trial" (Fraser, 2010)—which included a quip about a polyamorous trio in Esquimalt who are concerned about the consequences of the British Columbia Supreme Court trial to start Monday. Curious, I checked out their story and in that article the reporter (McCulloch, 2010) cited the relevant section of the Criminal Code which, to my surprise, does indeed criminalize polyamorous relationships:
The woman at the center of that Esquimalt trio is 51-year old Zoe Duff, who happens to be one of the directors of the Canadian Polyamory Advocacy Association, which was formed last year when it was realized that many polyamorous relationships and their supporters will be criminally liable if the 120-year-old anti-polygamy law is found constitutionally enforceable as currently written. What I want to know is, why is the Canadian federal government criminalizing what consenting adults do with themselves in the privacy of their own homes?
It will be interesting to watch how this case works out.
REFERENCES:
Criminal Code (R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46, s. 293) Wrote:Every one who practices or enters into or in any manner agrees or consents to practice or enter into ... any kind of conjugal union with more than one person at the same time, whether or not it is by law recognized as a binding form of marriage ... is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years (emphasis mine).
The woman at the center of that Esquimalt trio is 51-year old Zoe Duff, who happens to be one of the directors of the Canadian Polyamory Advocacy Association, which was formed last year when it was realized that many polyamorous relationships and their supporters will be criminally liable if the 120-year-old anti-polygamy law is found constitutionally enforceable as currently written. What I want to know is, why is the Canadian federal government criminalizing what consenting adults do with themselves in the privacy of their own homes?
It will be interesting to watch how this case works out.
REFERENCES:
- Bramham, D. (2010). Polyamorous triad: ‘We are a stable and happy blended family’. The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved from http://www.vancouversun.com.
- Canadian Polyamory Advocacy Association, http://polyadvocacy.ca.
- Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46, s. 293(1)(a)(ii) and (b).
- Fraser, K. (2010). Polygamy trial starts tomorrow. The Province. Retrieved from http://www.theprovince.com.
- Hutchinson, B (2010). Court to decide if polygamy laws conflict with rights charter. The National Post. Retrieved from http://life.nationalpost.com.
- McCulloch, S. (2010). ‘Many loves’ works best for some people. The Province. Retrieved from http://www.theprovince.com. Versions of this article also appear in The Times Colonist ("Esquimalt woman practices polyamory with live-in male partners"), The Vancouver Sun ("Threesome's company too: ‘Polyamorous’ adults defend way of life") and elsewhere.
Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when
called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason.
(Oscar Wilde)
called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason.
(Oscar Wilde)
